The king, who delivered a televised address Friday night to a conference of prominent Saudis, did not name any country. But Saudi officials have used similar terms to suggest a connection with Shiite Iran.

"There were hands that are known to you all ... behind what has happened in the Arab world, regrettably targeting Islam and the Arabs," he said.

Sunni Saudi Arabia is wary of the wave of Arab Spring uprisings, particularly in nearby Bahrain, where a Shiite majority is demanding greater rights from its Sunni rulers.

However, the kingdom strongly backs the largely Sunni uprising in Syria against Iran's ally, President Bashar Assad.